One non-eating thing we did while visiting Portland was go for a hike. Several people recommended Multnomah Falls so it seemed like the obvious choice. It’s nestled on the edge of the Columbia River along the Oregon-Washington border. We knew there was one large waterfall there, but didn’t know much past that. We were even prepared to try somewhere else because we had been told that Multnomah gets really crowded. So, our plan B was to drive around until we saw something else interesting.
Luckily, when we got there we happened upon an awesome parking spot (see, I told you things mysteriously worked out perfectly for us that weekend). On the advice of a ranger we did the Wahkeena loop trail, which ended up being a little over 6 miles. And I highly recommend it. The views of the river and Washington Mountains were really incredible. Plus, we saw six (!) different waterfalls. Seriously, if you want waterfalls this is the place to go.
If you do go, go early and park anywhere that doesn’t explicitly say “no parking.” We parked in one those do-you-think-it’s-a-spot spots and it was perfect. The bottom is really crowded but once you’re up about a mile it thins out a lot and is totally worth it, I recommend doing the full loop. The big falls at the bottom were cool, but all of our favorites were further up.
I recommend eating a huge breakfast at Pine State Biscuits before you go to keep your energy up during the hike (or, because you have a reason to stuff yourself with biscuits) and then grab lunch afterward instead of packing something to eat along the way.
